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The Barman
History A fellow who runs Badlands Jack’s bar and occasionally enters town. Seems to know and be friendly to many of the outside the gates characters in town, but can also be threatening. During down time, he may pours shots for an audience member, do card tricks or whittle a wooden figure. Appearance Cowboy attire sometimes with a bandana and cowboy hat. Loop - Basic * Flirtatious dance with Faye (Saloon) * Flirts and spurns Conrad (Saloon) * Stops serving Faye and watches her sing (Saloon)- Cleans bar (Saloon) * Gives Harry shots in return for Harry performing card tricks (Saloon) * Tells Harry to leave after he catches him drinking out of the bottles (Saloon) * Flirts and dances with Drugstore Girl (outside Drugstore) * Gives Badlands Jack noose (Saloon) Loop - Extended He spends most of his time in the local bar, the ‘Horse & Stars Tavern’. He wipes the surface with slow, purposeful motions and pours shots for audience members. He spends his downtime whittling a horse’s head out of wood. He takes out a bottle and pours a brown liquid into a shot glass. He covers the glass and then takes his hand away, and the glass is full of sand. He watches Conrad sing ‘I Can Never Go Home Anymore’ as Dwayne delivers a note to Mary. The bar empties and The Barman is left alone with Conrad. They dance and The Barman appears to lust after him. He’s surprised when Conrad reveals himself as a man and he chases him out of the bar. Conrad seems to know him, possibly from a previous job at the studio. He looks at The Barman pitifully and shakes his head, ‘You're lost man, lost’. Lonely and pitiful, The Barman picks up Conrad’s discarded sequinned dress and feather boa. He returns it to the Seamstress’ Shop over the road. He checks that there’s no’one watching and he buries his face in the folds of the fabric, inhaling deeply. He pauses next to an audience member and wraps the boa around her neck. He kisses her cheek and pulls away, leaving the clothes on the desk. He flirts and dances with Drugstore Girl. According to a file in the Drafting Room, The Barman thinks that Drugstore Girl is his long-lost sister and he's so happy just to see her. Later, he’s alone in the Tavern with an audience member. He gives the man a shot, which he drinks gratefully. He pours the man a second, and the man gestures that he’s had enough. The Barman shrugs, ‘C’mon, you're a big guy’. Romola pays a visit. She’s confused and stuttering, and The Barman has no time for her. Andy enters when the bar’s empty and dances on the counter to ’24 Hours’. He steals a bottle of beer and suddenly a baseball bat is slammed down on the bar next to him. The Barman chases Andy away, but the pursuit is cut short as the other characters arrive for the ‘Day of the Dead’ hoedown. A fight breaks out and The Barman gets stuck in. He brawls with Andy, swinging his bat and keeping him cornered while Dwayne sees to William. The Tavern empties and The Barman and Badlands Jack hang back. The Barman pours seven shots of whisky on the bar. He knocks one back, gives one to Jack and the rest are taken by grateful audience members. Harry enters, rambunctious and jovial, and he performs card tricks at the bar. The Barman rewards him with shots. Harry starts ranting and blurts out a series of random rhetorical questions. The Barman answers him sarcastically like he's heard it all before. He tells Harry to leave after catching him drinking out of the bottles. Mr Tuttle walks in with an audience member. He pulls out a dollar and says, 'I would like to buy a shot of alcohol for me and one for my friend.’ The audience member downs his shot, but Mr Tuttle can’t manage it all. 'How was it?' asks The Barman and Mr Tuttle says, ‘It's not bad, but I had better’. Badlands Jack crashes in and The Barman gives him a noose. Faye comes in, stumbling and drunk and The Barman serves her a shot. They share a flirtatious dance and swing each other around, faster and faster. The dance gets steamy and he ends up with his face between her legs, and he stops. He should be aroused, but something’s not right. Faye climbs onto the stage and sings ‘Walking in the Sand’ as The Barman looks on. Harry comes in and takes her away. The Barman gets on the stage to clean the microphone. The reset music plays in the background and he mouths uncertainly, ‘I want to sing you a song’. He opens his mouth to sing, but the music fades and his eyes cloud over. He shakes himself and walks away, looking back at the stage longingly. Like his desperate customers, he just wants to be a star. Final Show Trivia The name of the bar is taken from the tavern in the original play, where Woyzeck spies his beloved Marie dancing with the Drum Major. In ‘The Drowned Man’, the Tavern provides the central space for two pivotal events in William and Mary’s story. It’s also an important transitional space for many of the town’s peripheral characters. After leaving the lift, one of the first things the audience see is the flickering neon sign hanging outside, flashing ‘OPEN’, and The Barman organising his bar with a disinterested swagger. Quotes References Category:Characters